Over the course of 15 seasons, American Idol had about as much drama with the judges as it did with the contestants on stage. By the end of the show, there will have been 11 different judges, and many different combinations of judges. In the first season DJ Stryker was supposed to be a fourth judge but dropped out over “image concerns.” The next season, Angie Martinez was hired on, but withdrew only days before auditions because she was uncomfortable criticizing the singers. All three original judges, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul stayed on for eight seasons before the judge change-ups began. Of course, another changeup occurred when American Idol was brought back on ABC with three new judges! Check out how much all of the judges to ever appear on American Idol are worth now!
14. Katy Perry
Estimated Net Worth: $330 Million. Katy Perry was one of three major stars that were brought in by ABC to judge the revival of the series since it began in 2018. From 2009 to 2014 Perry was making anywhere between $30 to $50 million thanks to album sales, touring, endorsements and more. Things just got better when she earned around $135 million in 2015 and of course when she signed on to American Idol she inked a deal for an incredible $25 million.
(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
